Wednesday, November 19, 2008

The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department each year sponsors the Whale Watching Spoken Here program. The program places trained volunteers at 28 great whale-watching sites from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. during the winter and spring watch weeks.

The whales that we see here on the Oregon Coast are the Eastern Pacific Gray Whales. This population of whales move between Alaska and California each year. This is over 12,000 miles, making it one of the longest migrations known for any mammal. They all move north in the summer to feed in the cold and productive waters, and then south in the winter to the warmer waters off California to breed. They can grow to over 50 feet, weigh as much as 36 tons, and live for over 50 years. At this time of year, the whales are on their way southward to breed in Baja California. They travel both night and day and average about 80 miles per day!

A population of about 2,000 Gray Whales stay along the Oregon coast throughout the summer, not making the farther trip to Alaska waters. This means that all year around you have a pretty good chance of a whale sighting.